My Ass-pirations

My 13 year old nephew is going for a CCA day at his school this coming weekend and he had texted me in Whatsapp (yes, our family is very big on texting, don't judge) asking for my opinion and I replied, "Anything that's not dance related. You have got two left feet, don't embarrass yourself."

That text got me thinking about careers and aspirations. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to share with all of you my aspirations when I was younger in this blog post.

When I was a small kid, I couldn't be older than nine years old; I harbored a deep desire to be a lawyer. I think we can all agree that as kids, our dreams were very lofty. A doctor, a pilot, a lawyer, a policeman, a scientist etc. Even my late grandmother had wanted me to become a lawyer.

My mum however wasn't sold on the idea. I wanted to put the bad guys in jail, fight crime and spend my days saying, "Yes your honour, no your honour, three bags full your honour" and earn lots and lots of money.

My mum however said, "If there is a snake and a lawyer in front of you, you will kill the lawyer first you understand? Lawyer first! Then the snake! A lawyer twists his words more than a snake can coil and for that he or she should be killed first!"

So you can imagine why my lawyer dream didn't blossom further during primary school.

In secondary school, I then started to harbor a deep desire to be a radio presenter or a newscaster. I would buy newspapers (Only the government sanctioned, the one sided, disgusting The Straits Times for me thank you very much) on a daily basis and read out loud all the articles for about an hour. I found the idea of reaching hundreds and thousands of people an exhilarating affair.

I never came around to being one but after two years of practice, I came out with near perfect diction and reading capabilities. Oral exams became a walk in the park and I took part in various oratorical, story-telling and debate events in school and out of it.

When I was 15, I had a great desire to be a literature teacher. I figured that I would be a brilliant educator and would make literature an easy and fun subject for my students; complete with music, song, dance, pantomimes and drama. For the next couple of years I toyed with the idea of being an A* Lit teacher.

It is also during these two years that I started to fall in love with theatre and the performing arts. I was so heavily involved in it during secondary school that after my "O" levels, I made up my mind to enroll in an arts college to pursue my tertiary education.

And so I got into Lasalle, after doing an Anton Chekov's Three Sisters Monologue for the audition piece.

By 17 years old, I wanted to be a playwright and an actor. I would go home from college and write mini monologues for myself. In fact, I even wrote an unfinished (they always remain unfinished) play titled Heat.

The story revolves around an ironing board and how different people from different lives reflect on their existence while ironing their clothes.

Typing that made me smile. I was so idealistic. I told myself, "You're going to write a play, go to a theatre company and have it staged three months later to a full house." Little that I know that the whole process is an impossible dream because simply, my plays weren't completed; an unfinished product.

But to be honest, wanting to be a playwright was my last dream career. and it stayed on for so long because it is a feasible possibility for me.

All I got to do is finish up on all these half-finished plays that I wrote back in college. And who knows, maybe one day, you will get to watch one of my "yet-to-be-completed" play on stage. And that of course is a huge stretch.

I cannot even finish a blog post and have it published on time sometimes, let alone a full play. (: